Lopez Still Getting The Love

Frank Dell'Apa of the Boston Globe and Soccernet.com called Lopez one of the best DP signings since the rule was enacted prior to last season. To read the complete article, click here. The story is currently on the front of the U.S. section at Soccernet with a great picture from his days at America. See that here.

He also tells a nice story about a young Lopez and the near-miss he suffered with original club Racing back in 1994. Excerpt:

In the final weeks of Argentina's 1994 Apertura season, Racing Club was poised to win the championship. Many of the 60,000-plus Racing supporters at Estadio Juan Domingo Peron in Avellaneda were in a celebratory mood on a warm Friday night in late February, some scaling a 25-foot fence behind the goal to lead the cheering.

The Racing team, which included a 19-year-old forward named Claudio Javier Lopez, had momentum and motivation, plus a 1-0 halftime lead over Ferro Carril Oeste. But the action was just starting. Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe someone was trying to give Racing another advantage, but the lights in the visiting team's locker room went out, so Ferro spent halftime on the field, amid the din and pyrotechnics. And when Mariano Dalla Libera extended the lead to 2-0 early in the second half, Racing's title seemed secure.

Dalla Libera started the party by ripping off his shirt and twirling it, whipping up the crowd.

But that action by Dalla Libera -- who had long ago earned the nickname "El Loco" -- was the beginning of the end of Racing's season; he received his second caution (shirt removal had only recently become a yellow-card offense), Racing lost its inspirational playmaker and Ferro calmly rallied to tie. Racing supporters attempted to confront the officiating crew, waiting outside the locker room for an hour after the game, failing in their attempt only because they were diverted by a gunshot.

After the reporters from Clarin had filed their stories by cell phone, I joined them at a parrillada for a dinner which began well past midnight, returning to my hotel about 4 a.m.

Lopez and his Racing teammates probably had difficulty sleeping after that match, which did, indeed, cost them the title -- they finished a point behind first place River Plate.

Good story and good stuff.